posted
Hi friends: Quick question ......anyone know of hearing loss due to Lyme? I got hearing aids a year ago and within the last 11 months have lost 20% bilateral loss? Any Ideas??? Thanks so much! Mary
Posts: 61 | From Pembroke Pines, Florida | Registered: Nov 2003
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Keebler
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posted
- I'm so sorry to hear this as I know hearing loss can involve far more than just hearing. I hope you don't have some of the balance issues that can go with it.
The really sharp reality about lyme and about lyme treatment is that either one can cause hearing loss, lyme by itself, untreated - and also many of the Rx used.
That is why liver support supplements are so strongly suggested by many LLMDs now, though, as antioxidants in the liver support herb / nutrients may help, to some degree in prevention & even in tissue repair (as often nerves are starved of key nutrients).
It's very complex, though, in that for each person there can be genetics and also history of noise damage that does not show up for many years, or decades. A concert in your teens could be catching up with you - or frequent use of a hairdryer, etc.
Many drugs & over the counter products -- not just those for lyme -- can contribute to or even cause hearing loss. Acetaminophen is high on that list.
As for what might help now, though . . .
hands numb so have to stop for now. I do think there may be some "modified" hope with key supports, etc. Look to the mushroom LION'S MANE. Some ideas here:
Topic: TINNITUS: Ringing Between The Ears; Vestibular, Balance, Hearing with compiled links - including HYPERACUSIS -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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- If there is any way you have access to mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy, you might study that in relation to some article I read a while back about mild HBOT helping to actually reverse a case of sudden hearing loss - getting oxygen to the ear nerves.
I can't look into that now and must stop typing but just a thought to study. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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- Also be sure to go to the last few posts of thread above to the 3rd edition of Neil Bauman's book "Ototoxic Drugs" that book is very important to have in your possession.
take care
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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dbpei
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posted
Sorry about your hearing loss, Maryc. I suddenly lost most of my hearing in one ear 5 years ago. It was after that, I developed many 'odd symptoms' that have been plaguing me since. Tingling, pulling sensations, burning sinuses, head pressure, buzzing and ringing in my ears, and more.
Vestibular testing now shows nerve damage on both sides to my inner ear. But somehow, my brain has done a good job of compensating for this damage. My eyes have taken on a really important role in keeping me balanced! Another reason I try hard to protect my eyes as well as my ears.
Have you had any vertigo? Before my hearing loss, I had mild vertigo for a few months that seemed to resolve on its own. I now wonder if that was the beginning of an infection in my inner ear that resulted in hearing damage.
I do test positive for borellia myamotoi and brucellosis, for which there is a stronger correlation of hearing loss and vestibular damage. I am treating aggressively for the brucellosis right now because of this. I doubt my hearing loss will be reversed. But hoping I can get rid of some of these other awful symptoms.
As Keebler said, be very careful with the use of antibiotics - protecting your ears from any loud noises while using, especially. I also strongly recommend Neil Bauman's book and his newsletters. http://hearinglosshelp.com/Posts: 2386 | From New England | Registered: Aug 2011
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poppy
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People have gone deaf before they ever knew they had lyme or took any ototoxic drugs.
In fact, the deafness sent them and their families on a search for the cause, and the lucky ones did get a diagnosis. And sometimes this can be reversed to some degree. Just google lyme and hearing loss.
Posts: 2888 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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Keebler
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posted
- As poppy suggests: Yes, do consider if infection is still an on-going factor.
While considering if lyme treatment you had in past was comprehensive / effective, also consider other chronic stealth infections that can go along with lyme as they could also affect the hearing.
Be sure to avoid steroids.
You might also consider a rife machine, if at all possible. Many who either could not access a LLMD, afford treatment or tolerate Rx have found this to be very helpful, along with key supplements.
RIFE Machine - Reference LINKS -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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posted
- While you sort through what to do next, be sure you have adequate liver / kidney support on board to help reduce inflammation, even if not taking anything else:
LIVER & KIDNEY SUPPORT & and several HERXHEIMER support links, too. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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poppy
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Wasn't disagreeing with you, keebler. Just wanted to make sure she included her lyme in the list of culprits for this.
Speaking as one who has also lost some hearing, and dealing for a very long time now with tinnitus (which started before any treatment). Sure do wish it would go away, but have the impression that this is irreversible nerve damage.
Posts: 2888 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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Keebler
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- poppy,
I did not interpret that as disagreement - and I was just making sure your thought got a good "DITTO" - I had assumed treatment may have been "complete" but looking back at posting history it seems the doctor dropped the ball when the going got tough.
Yeah, about irreversible nerve damage, that can happen but it can be hard to know. I do know that the noise levels we are all exposed to, even by vacuums and hairdryers is enough for nerve damage to start early on in life. Big sigh. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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dbpei
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poppy, I learned that Lyme was likely the cause of my hearing loss after about 8 months of searching for answers and I saw a LLMD.
But because my Western Blots were negative (even Igenex) and I was not hit with debilitating pain and fatigue like so many with chronic Lyme, I have always been searching for other possible causes.
But I do think it is likely related to tick borne illness. I also suffer from bad tinnitus in both ears - not just my deaf one. It is a maddening high pitched hum in my good ear and a low machine sound in my deaf ear. I have a regular symphony going on most of the time.
Do you have other symptoms, such as buzzing, sizzling, burning and fluttering sensations near your ears or sinuses, head pressure? It scares me to think I might lose more hearing in my good ear. I have vestibular damage as well, but my brain has compensated for this.
When you do a google search for neurobrucellosis, you find a lot more mention of hearing loss and vestibular damage than you do with lyme. Since I test positive for this, my hunch is that this is the disease that caused me to lose my hearing. But testing is also flawed for this illness. Posts: 2386 | From New England | Registered: Aug 2011
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Keebler
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- dbpei points out that various kinds of tinnitus can accompany hearing loss.
Another sad yet interesting note is that there can also be severe sensitivity to sound (hyperacusis) along with some kinds of hearing loss.
I sure hope you also don't have hyperacusis as well. That can make hearing aids all the more difficult to use. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
The husband of a wife who had bad Lyme started loosing his hearing and getting a bad cataract in his eye all on the same side.
His wife's LLMD tested him and found he was infected too, with treatment the hearing loss was helped but the cataract grew so big, when it was removed the eye dr sent it to pathology and they found Lyme in it, the cause of the cataract.
He had NO other symptoms of Lyme! Hearing loss and vision were the only two symptoms he had and thanks to his wife's LLMD he caught it and treated the husband.
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